UP UNTIL recently, Christie McCann had walked her girls to school and back every day.
Shanti, 11, and Kyla, 8, only started riding their bikes to school this year after Ms McCann said she “finally decided to give them some independence”.
But after a terrifying incident on Friday afternoon the Mandurah mum will no longer let her girls out of her sight.
Grabbed by a stranger on Reserve Drive last Friday, Kyla was saved from an attempted abduction by her big sister whose quick thinking has seen her hailed a hero.
The girls had left school and were making their way home when a small, white, two-door hatchback being driven by a man mounted the kerb nearby.
A male passenger grabbed Kyla before Shanti “yanked on her for dear life”.
The girls said the car had been speeding towards them and Kyla remembers Shanti yelling at her to “watch out” before a man tried to pull her into the vehicle through a window.
“The car was right beside me,” Kyla said.
“Then the man tried to pull me in.
“He grabbed me by the arm quite forcefully.”
Shanti said the only thought in her mind was saving her sister who she grabbed by the waist and pulled backwards.
“I heard a man say ‘we’ve got a winner’,” Shanti said.
“They didn’t laugh.
“They said it in a serious voice.”
When the vehicle sped off the girls headed straight for home and arrived “pale and shaky”, according to Ms McCann.
“Kyla said ‘I’m really scared’, and I was like, ‘what?’,” she said.
The frightening details led the family straight to the police station where a report was filed and a case opened.
The girls have since been interviewed by detectives with the shirt Kyla was wearing at the time of the incident being taken for forensic testing.
“They were so brave,” Ms McCann said.
“They were really good to recollect so many details.
“I’m so proud of them.
“This has been absolutely shocking.”
An outpouring of community support and outrage has buoyed the tight-knit family who posted about the incident on Facebook.
A common sentiment has been pride in Shanti for her brave actions that saved her sister.
But calling Shanti a hero leaves her embarrassed and stuck for words.
“My whole family has called me a hero,” she said.
“It makes me blush.”
Shanti said she would do anything for her sister, but drew the line at doing Kyla’s chores.
She said Kyla showed her gratitude through tight squeezes and there had been plenty of cuddles since the horrifying incident.
“We get to sleep in mum’s bed, now,” Shanti said.
When asked what they would say to the men who tried to snatch Kyla off the street the girls’ answers vary.
“I would tell them they’re going to pay for what they did,” Shanti said, while Kyla said she would “pull a bad face at them”.
Ms McCann just wants them caught.
“We want these people found and off the streets as soon as possible,” she said.
“This has been a very frightening experience.”
Police have confirmed they are investigating the abduction attempt and are seeking any witnesses to come forward.
The car was described as “pretty scratched up with an old school yellow number plate”.
The driver was reported to have a shaved head and a brown, long-sleeved jumper on while the passenger had blonde hair and was wearing a blue t-shirt.
A backseat passenger was described as having brown hair and a white and green baseball cap and an ear piercing.
Schools sent notes home today warning parents about the incident.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
